The Rockies have their eyes on one of the Mets’ free agents.
According to the Denver Post, center fielder Brandon Nimmo is “on the Rockies’ preliminary wish list” ahead of MLB free agency. The report said the team would “love” to have a lefty-hitting center fielder who can hit at the top of the lineup.
Nimmo, who left CAA and hired Scott Boras in January, had a career-best 5 wins above replacement (WAR) in 2022, according to Baseball Reference. The 29-year-old former first-round pick of the Mets hit .274 with an .800 OPS, 16 home runs, 64 RBIs, a career-best 30 doubles and seven triples this year while appearing in a career-high 151 games.
There will likely be heavy interest in Nimmo, who is likely the top center-field option on the market (assuming teams don’t consider Aaron Judge a center fielder.) He often rotated between center field and the corner-outfield spots before 2020, but proved he can play well in center.
“We’re looking at being a part of a winning culture,” Nimmo said after the Mets were eliminated by the Padres in the wild-card round of this year’s playoffs, “and I think that’s something that Steve [Cohen] has done really, really well here. There’s definitely some factor that will play into that as far as how I’ve been treated while I’ve been here, the chances they took on me in the draft. It’s all I’ve really known.”
The Cheyenne, Wyo., native has played parts of seven seasons for the Mets, who won 101 games this year. The Rockies (68-94) finished last in the NL West.